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Escaped Inmate's Mother Arrested, Accused of Helping Son in Jailbreak

August 4, 2013

(HOT SPRINGS, Ark.) — The mother of a Hot Springs, Ark., inmate who is on the loose has been arrested on charges that she assisted in her son’s escape from jail.

Glenda Estell, 54, was taken into custody at Garland County Jail Friday evening, accused of being part of a network of friends and family who orchestrated Derrick Estell’s jailbreak at approximately 1:40 p.m. on July 28.

Authorities determined that Estell aided in her son’s escape from Garland County Dentention Center after police listened to recordings of 40 phone calls he had made to her from jail over the month leading up to the day of his escape, according to the police report.

“The phone conversations between Derrick and Glenda Estell all have random mentions of the plan for Derrick to escape custody,” the police report said.

While he appeared to be having a routine conversation on the inmate phone last Sunday, one of Derrick Estell’s alleged accomplices distracted jail deputies. This then gave him a small margin of time to dive through a window into the prison waiting room and sprint out of the jail to a getaway car allegedly driven by his girlfriend, Tamara Upshaw, who was waiting for him outside.

Glenda Estell allegedly gave her son the green light to make a run for it by telling him, “It’s all good,” according to the police report.

The man who allegedly created a diversion by trying to deposit money into the account of a fake inmate was identified as Upshaw’s stepfather, 58-year-old William Harding, the police report said.

Harding was arrested July 28 for allegedly helping Derrick Estell escape and was later released.

Estell, who has a criminal record that includes at aggravated robbery, burglary, theft, and breaking and entering, had escaped from jail in March, but he was recaptured after several hours.

While Derrick Estell has been on the run for his sixth day straight, law enforcement experts say it’s unlikely the man whom the Garland County Sheriff’s Department has called “armed, dangerous and extremely aggressive” will be on the run for much longer.

“It’s almost like getting the sheriff involved, that ‘Hey, I am going to escape tomorrow,'” ABC News consultant and former FBI Agent Brad Garrett told Good Morning America. “Just give me a head start. It’s almost that silly.”

Meanwhile, Glenda Estell is due in Hot Springs District Court on August 13, according to the police report.